FTII row: Students protest in Delhi

Student organizations today protested outside Shastri Bhawan , New Delhi, demanding the removal of TV actor Gajendra Singh Chauhan from the post of Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The students claim that Chauhan is a "political appointee" and has no requisite "academic and artistic excellence".

“Gajendra Chauhan should resign immediately so that the saffronisation of the institute can be prevented,” said a protestor. During the protests, some of the students were taken into preventive custody by the police.

A delegation from FTII is said to meet a representative of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry today.

Students from FTII, the country's premier film and TV institute have been agitating over the appointment of TV actor Gajendra Chauhan as the Institute's Chairman. Students have boycotted classes and abandoned academic work in protest against the appointment of Chauhan, who they allege lacks "stature and vision" to head the premiere institution.